Chapter 662
The Arrival of the Pillar Gods
“Eivass” spoke, and the ritual chamber fell into a sudden silence.
All the cardinals exchanged glances, but no one chose to speak immediately.
However, some cardinals did close their eyes. As their Path Crystallization lit up, when these cardinals opened their eyes again, an increasingly profound and mysterious atmosphere permeated the ritual chamber.
“—As you invited, Kunpeng. I have arrived.”
Cardinal Cyril’s expression suddenly changed, becoming cold. He opened his eyes, and his pupils turned an eerie amethyst color, with snake-like vertical pupils of flame burning fiercely in the center of the amethyst.
“How long has it been since we gathered like this?”
A young girl with pure white long hair and an ice-cold demeanor like snow spoke with a smile. Previously, her aura was serene and silent, appearing as still as a lifeless sculpture. Her hair, as if cut by a single stroke, exuded a silent sharpness. Now, her pupils had a mirror-like sheen, but her aura had become more lively.
She clasped her hands together, a naive and innocent smile on her face: “Since the opportunity is rare, why don’t I paint a picture for everyone?”
Undoubtedly, what had descended into her body was the Twin Mirrors.
Just then, another lady beside her, with wavy chestnut-brown hair and a laurel wreath on her head, suddenly leaned in. Her originally deep blue pupils quietly turned blood-red. She grabbed the Twin Mirrors’ face, her fingers brushing her cheek, her fingers clamping the other’s earlobes. She directly embraced the Twin Mirrors, then without a word, lowered her head and kissed her deeply.
—The moment Eivass saw this, he guessed it must be Hengwo.
The Twin Mirrors did not resist, but rather smiled and hugged Hengwo back. When Hengwo looked up, she tiptoed and chased after her, returning the kiss. Then, she gently rubbed Hengwo’s chin and reached out to stroke her head: “Good girl, good girl… long time no see…”
Hengwo unseeingly slid her hand from the hem of the Twin Mirrors’ clothes, moving slowly upwards from her lower back towards her back.
While the two goddesses were being intimate, Belisarius, who had questioned Eivass earlier, also changed his expression. He stood up, clenched his fist, and slowly nodded, disregarding the other Pillar Gods to speak directly about business: “Yes, this is the case. This is my transaction with the Lord of Scales and Feathers. Now, with the help of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, I have become a complete Pillar God. Therefore, I handed over a portion of the description of ‘Power’ enveloped within the Path of Authority to the Lord of Scales and Feathers.”
“Of course, all I can decide is the composition within the Path of Authority. As for the parts of other Paths, they are unrelated to me.”
He breathed slightly, as if taking a puff of smoke, slowly exhaling white frost. His pupils turned into silvery white dragon eyes, and his heart, originally as transparent as crystal, was covered in a layer of silver frost.
He had questioned Eivass earlier, and now he was agreeing with what “Eivass” had said.
“All right, children… let me say a few words.”
Just then, a gentle, motherly whisper sounded. Fafnir’s pupils turned a fiery red. Not only that—the two curved dragon horns on her head also ignited with two flames like candles. Her gloomy aura was swept away, as if a brazier had been lit in a originally damp and cold room, making the air warm and dry.
She had a gentle, motherly smile on her lips. She raised her hand to lightly brush her hair from her temple, moving the hair that had obscured half of Cardinal Fafnir’s cheek behind her. In that instant, Fafnir, who had originally looked as gloomy as a villain, now possessed a gentle and luminous beauty akin to a wife or a mother.
The other cardinals who had not yet entered the divine descent state bowed their heads to the Pillar Gods who had descended, and paid special homage to Cardinal Fafnir: “Praise be to the God of the Sacred Number Three, the glorious Fire Stealer…”
And “Fafnir” merely showed a gentle smile. She did not rush to speak, but walked around the entire room, lightly caressing each cardinal’s head. She embraced them, letting them lean into her embrace, and whispered something into their ears.
First, the cardinals who had not entered the divine descent state, and then those who had already entered—as the Candlemaster embraced them, their divine descent characteristics temporarily receded. These Pillar Gods had briefly returned to the Dream Realm to allow the cardinals they possessed to speak directly with the Candlemaster. Only after this contact concluded did they return. From this, it could be seen that they cared quite a bit about and recognized their contractors and representatives.
When it came to the last person, it was Eivass’s turn. —It felt like lying in a warm bathtub, with water immersing the body. As the water was drained, the body was gradually revealed to the air, and the sense of weightlessness subsided. Eivass gradually regained control of his body.
The Candlemaster, using Fafnir’s body, deeply embraced Eivass. Although Fafnir was a dragon, she had transformed into an elf. She was about two meters tall, so Eivass, at 1.82 meters, was still shorter than her by over a head. The warmth was like basking by a fireplace at home. Eivass felt a strong sense of peace… and even caught a pleasant, sun-dried scent from Fafnir’s clothes. That feeling even caused Eivass to have a mental vision of the word “Mother.”
“You’ve done well, child,” the Candlemaster said softly. “Don’t pay too much attention to them… they don’t have any hostility towards you. Besides Ruoan and Grey, the Church only has one cardinal contracted with Kunpeng, and that is Loki. And that child hasn’t shown much to others… so the Path Adaptation is not within their cognition.”
Listening to the Candlemaster’s gentle explanation, Eivass gradually understood: Eivass realized that the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ earlier statement was not an exaggeration. In the minds of other cardinals, the Path Adaptation was indeed considered a “coward’s Path.” That was why the Lord of Scales and Feathers had retorted to Siegfried at the time—and also why the Lord of Scales and Feathers wanted to obtain the power of the “Warrior” to correct the deviation of the Path Adaptation.
Because the current understanding of the Path Adaptation had gradually deviated from the Origin River of “Survival.” For example, “poison” was indeed a means for the weak to defeat the strong. Many animals and plants in nature relied on poison to survive in an environment surrounded by natural enemies. Stealth and invisibility were like chameleons; they were also ways to avoid being discovered by natural enemies. But if these two skills were combined, would an assassin skilled in poison have a higher survival rate? On the contrary. Were assassins not challenging the strong or dangerous situations?
Similarly, the skills of a hunter were to help them survive in nature. Conversing with beasts, taming beasts, and the control of bows and firearms, as well as sabers and daggers, were all based on this purpose. In an era when “beast disasters” spread throughout the world, hunters who could slay these monsters were the guardians of the race. —Besides hunters, who else could contend with the hundred-odd offspring of the Beast Lords? But now, with monsters dead and warriors extinct, hunters have instead become the main profession for conscription—they are adept at traversing mountains, possess strong guerrilla, wild combat, and night combat abilities, are skilled in using various light ranged weapons, and have the ability to conceal their presence. Compared to assassins, they have a higher and broader field of vision, and can even share vision with animal partners.
These were the best soldiers. The external wound healing ability of physicians was basically perfectly covered and replaced by priests. This was also why there were few cardinals contracted with the Lord of Scales and Feathers, because when it came to “medicine,” if alchemical potions and witches’ elixirs were excluded, not much effectiveness remained. Ultimately, the synonym for physician became “poison”—the Path Adaptation was inherently skilled in using poison. Various difficult-to-remove curses and poisons became the synonym for extraordinary individuals of the Path Adaptation.
Thus, an ironic situation arose. —Despite originating from the Origin River of Survival, extraordinary individuals of the Path Adaptation were often in danger. The entire Path had severely deviated.
(End of this chapter)
